WWWD?
Well, it's out. Rove ratted out Wilson's wife as a CIA agent because he was pissed that Wilson criticized false White House claims about Iraq.
Funny thing, nobody from either side of the aisle is much surprised by this. Everyone knows that Rove is a political sleazebag. What is surprising, at least to me, is the willingness of decent conservatives to eagerly kiss Rove's ring as he rammed his filthy brand of politics into our country for the last ten years. Will righties continue to defend him after this? Will they argue that leaking the name of a covert CIA operative for vengeance against a man who was speaking the truth is good for America?
Of course, the bigger question: What Will W. Do? Everyone paying attention now recognizes that his earnest declaration that he "welcomed the investigation" and wanted to "get to the bottom" of who leaked Plame's identity is a joke. We now know he could have simply asked his buddy Karl - "d'ja do it?" I think we recognized that back when Bush lawyered up (let's not forget, either, Bush's words at the time: "this is a criminal matter, it's a serious matter")
Now that we know that Mr. Rove did, in fact, leak Plame's identity, Bush should fire him. Can there be any question about that? Is that even up for debate? Does it even matter if Rove's sleazy attacks on the Wilson family were legal?
UPDATE: One right wing response. Let's see if the rest of the Bush Loyalists jump to Rove's defense this eagerly, or if they will condemn his thuggish political sleaziness. Let's see what sort of character these folks have.
posted by Abe at 7/10/2005 04:25:00 PM
11 Comments:
Cheers, Soup. I don't disagree with Somerby (or, in fact, Powerline) in that it has not been proven that Rove broke the law.
That doesn't matter. Rove most certainly did leak Plame's identity as part of a thuggish political hit job. It might turn out that he also committed a criminal act in doing so (or perjury after the fact). But even if Rove's behavior is not criminal, this kind of unstatesmanlike sleaziness has no place in a Presidential Administration, does it?
I'm asking.
If he knowingly broke the law, he should be fired. Is that clear enough? Hope so. I have yet to see definitive proof though.
Ok Rock. I guess you're cool with legal sleaziness from our government. How about this: what if Rove flat out lied to the American people? That's not illegal. Firing offense?
Abe,
Not being a Clinton supporter, I'm not as up on "legal sleaziness' as you apparently are. If Rove gets the boot, it won't change my world. Maybe he did out Valerie Plame, maybe he didn't. I've seen no proof either way. If he's guilty of that or sleaze, he should be fired. I just find it fun that you liberals have already convicted the man. There STILL isn't any proof. The allegation is apparently enough for you since you hate the guy though, right? Don't assume that I worship the guy, I don't.
Um... so are you two actually contending that it might not be true that Rove leaked Plame's identity to Cooper? If so, I suggest you catch up on the story, gentlemen.
Bush said he would fire anyone involved in the leak of Plame's identity.
Is he a man of his word?
As of today, it certainly appears that the White House is hunkering down, stonewalling, and waiting for some other news story to divert attention. Meanwhile, Rove supporters are splitting hairs over spilt milk.
It certainly wasn't Clinton's finest hour when he said, "It all depends on what the definition of 'is' is." Now, we're starting to see similar semantics from the Bush crowd. (Note to other posters, that's not a signal to start bashing Clinton again -- that would just be another diversion.)
Here, the issue swirls around vengefully revealing the identity of a CIA agent, the President's promise to get to the bottom of it, and the Administration's utter failure to come clean when the dirt is on their hands. Does Gonzales have the cajones to appoint a special prosecutor? I doubt it, if he's lusting after a seat on the Court.
How many times must I say it? If Rove is guilty, he must go. I have little doubt Bush will follow through. Maybe you liberals haven't noticed, but Bush has a good track record of doing exactly what he says he's going to do.
I'm still waiting for proof on this one. I can see you lefties won't wait for proof though. The mere allegation is enough for you to convict him. Plame and her hubby are far from clean themselves kids.
It's frickin hilarious to watch the GOP spin on this one. They attack Plame and Wilson!! Looks like that preposterous line of attack has worked its way out to Montana and into Rock's head. I appreciate you using only innuendo, though, Rock. That makes me hope that you even feel a little sick about it.
Let's see... Wilson is a big assed Democrat and Plame sent him on the trip to Niger. Much of what he found/said about Niger has been called into question. Plame hasn't been considered a real 'deep cover operative' since she married Wilson over six years ago. Do I give Rove a free ride? No. I'm just patiently waiting for PROOF of wrongdoing. Can you lefties wait for the same? Apparently not.
Ha! And the "proof" you were waiting for before you posted that comment was... let me guess ... official RNC talking points mailed out two days ago?
Rock, I'd advise you to drop a phone call to Patrick Fitzgerald to let him know that his thorough investigation of this matter is a huge joke and to stop wasting his valuable time because you have determined (doubtless through more extensive legal and factual research than that conducted by the feds before they proceeded with this investigation) that Plame was not, in fact, undercover. I'm sure Fitz would appreciate the tip.
It appears that the jury's only out about one thing now, buddy: whether Rove KNEW Plame was undercover. If he didn't know - I submit to you that he should have checked before blabbing about her to settle a score.
Wilson himself is now quoted to have said his wife was not a deep cover agent when she was outed. Is that a good enough source for you? It also appears that Rove learned of Plame from reporters, not the other way around. Let's wait and see the FACTS. I'm not ready to exonerate Rove, but it appears that rushing to judgement was a mistake by you liberals. I'm fair enough to say it could still go either way. Are you?
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